The best part of graduation was President Drew Faust's speech at Baccalaureate. A transcript can be found here.
I almost didn't go to Baccalaureate.
me before it: What is this thing anyway?
Vicki: It's like a religious ceremony.
Chelsea: I think they pray for us and shit.
Little did I know, it was within the context of this event that President Faust addressed us specifically as undergrads. Far more meaningful than anything that happened at Class Day (which was geared towards us) or Commencement (which made me feel small and insignificant among the thousands of people graduating from each Harvard school that day as well as the thousands of alumni visiting for reunions). But Drew Faust is amazing. She is smart and funny and seems like she really cares about the undergrads. And her advice is the kind of wisdom you hope you will receive before you leave the comfort of college:
"...if you don’t try to do what you love—whether it is painting or biology or finance—if you don’t pursue what you think will be most meaningful, you will regret it. Life is long. There is always time for Plan B. But don’t begin with it.
I think of this as my parking space theory of career choice, and I have been sharing this with students for decades. Don’t park 20 blocks from your destination because you think you’ll never find a space. Go where you want to be and then circle back to where you have to be."
"The surest way to have a meaningful, happy life is to commit yourself to striving for it. Don’t settle. Be prepared to change routes. Remember the impossible expectations we have of you, and even as you recognize that they are impossible, remember how important they are as a lodestar guiding you toward something that matters to you and to the world. The meaning of your life is for you to make."
Now I am home and terrified... but somehow comforted by her words. Vincimus!
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